Lifestyle Photography

Lifestyle photography is the art of capturing people in real-life events and settings in a visually appealing way. Typically, a professional family lifestyle photographer will capture families and couples in a planned but mostly unscripted fashion. Poses during lifestyle photography sessions will usually involve the photographer having the clients stand, act or move in a way that looks and feels natural. This type of photography falls under the much larger portrait photography group of skills.

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Act naturally

There may be some planned direction by the photographer, but mostly the subjects are asked to act naturally. It is those captured natural expressions that families love to see in photographs. Each expression and scene are captured in a natural form, (not in a rigid or posed state where the participants are looking at the camera), and it is those images that the family will relate closely to.

The objective of lifestyle photography

It does sound like a genre closer to photojournalism photography or family portrait photography, but it is not. Instead, it includes an individual or a family where the objective of the lifestyle photographer is to capture life events creatively but unscripted and unposed. Consider it as a planned way of capturing candid images of the best moments of someone’s life.

The genre of lifestyle photography has become much more widespread in recent years. This article will facilitate you with all the crucial information on lifestyle photography that can help you capture perfect photographs.

What is lifestyle photography?

A family is typically involved in lifestyle photography, where the participants perform everyday activities and act as they do in their routine lives. The photographer’s job is to capture their interactions in such creative ways that when viewing the photographs anyone will know who the members are and how they reciprocate each other’s emotions. The photographer is more like a storyteller who is expressing a story with a collection of images.

It does not matter if the images do not work sequentially, after all, it’s not a movie! But do try to project the images in a way that viewers get a sense of what life with the family would be like.

During a lifestyle photography session, there may be some planned direction by the photographer, but mostly the subjects are asked to act naturally.
Photography Reference

Prime lenses and zoom lenses for lifestyle photography

Prime lenses are beneficial because they can be utilized when there are fewer focal lengths. Additionally, the distortion is also less when capturing images through a prime lens. In simple terms it will help you capture sharper quality images. A zoom lens will be useful where the photographer wants to be more creative such as blurring the background, or to keep everything in focus if using a wider lens. Prime lenses and zoom lenses will add versatility to your work, and it will increase the expressive possibilities.

Wide apertures

Wide apertures are specifically useful when you are shooting indoors. There will quite often be low-light scenarios in the client’s home, and wide apertures will give the photographer an upper hand in capturing the subjects. Whereas small range apertures are useful in capturing images outdoors in situations such as children and pets as they often love the outdoors where there are swings, and ground to play on.

Memory cards, batteries, and battery chargers

You will likely be photographing in different locations or at least different areas of a home and possibly for extended periods of time. So, ensure there are enough backup batteries and memory cards for the session.

The role of the photography in a lifestyle photography session is as a storyteller, and one of the best things about being a photographic storyteller is the flexibility to be creative.

The camera settings mentioned here will help project images in a manner that your story comes alive.

Sports mode

We recommend using manual settings for a lot of the genres of photography, but it is ok to try something different that works for you. Timing is of essence in lifestyle photography because you are not only capturing actions but also emotions. Continuous shooting mode or sports mode enables you to capture the perfect moment. Your effort, resources, and time will be more productive, and it will help prevent you from shooting hundreds of throw-away photos. However, this mode is more useful when you are shooting outdoors, or with children and pets that are constantly moving.

Avoid flash

It does sound counter-intuitive to not use flash in lifestyle photography, but the beauty of images in this genre is usually far better with natural light. It may definitely be a challenge at times but use natural light as much as is possible. If the location allows, you can choose light from a window for the session. Nevertheless, keep an eye on the white balance when photographing indoors as the yellow colour of luminescent bulbs may affect the photographs.

Adjust focus camera settings

Switch from autofocus to manual focus for taking sharper images. The choice completely depends on the location the circumstances and the scene you are photographing. For example, in sports mode, you might need to set the focus mode to autofocus but when you are capturing images of a family member reading something, you might switch to manual focus.

Don’t put the camera down

In lifestyle photography another important item for you to consider the fact that life is a movement! Some of the greatest images you will capture will be spontaneous when your subjects are on the move. For instance, it could be a great shot when children are moving down a hallway with a sliver of lighting coming from the study, or as two children sun along a beach laughing and looking into each other’s eyes as the move swiftly. The best time to garner raw documentary moments can happen at any time, so always be ready.

Opt for activities in lifestyle photography

When documenting real life, you don’t need the subjects to pose, so encourage them to interact with each other through activities, such as reading a story to the kids, throwing a ball to the pet dog, or getting each participant to tell the others what they love about them.

What you have is all you have

Something different! Spilled ketchup in the kitchen is a mess, but when one is cleaning it could very well assist you to capture some interesting emotions.